Telephony service invocation using service descriptors

ABSTRACT

A method of providing telephony services can include receiving a request to query a subscriber information data store to determine service description information for a call. The service description information can specify at least one telephony service associated with a subscriber for use in processing the call. The method further can include querying the subscriber information data store to determine the service description information, receiving the service description information from the subscriber information data store, and providing the service description information to a telephony service node to implement a telephony service specified by the service description information with respect to the call.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Technical Field

[0002] This invention relates to the field of telephony and, moreparticularly, to providing telephony services to subscribers.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] The delivery of most telephony services and features is tied tothe directory number of a calling party or a called party. In fact,nearly all of the activities performed by a conventional telephonysystem, whether a circuit-switched telephone network such as the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN) or a packet-switched telephony system,are based on such directory numbers or network addresses as may be thecase. The dialed directory number can be referred to as the DNIS inreference to directory number identification service, a service whichidentifies for a receiving party the number dialed by a calling party.The directory number of the calling party can be referred to as an ANIin reference to automatic number identification, the service whichprovides the receiving party with the directory number of the callingparty.

[0005] When a calling party initiates a call to a receiving party, theDNIS and the ANI can be used to authenticate the call. Authenticationcan include tasks such as finding the ANI in a list of authorizedsubscribers and ensuring that the DNIS is valid. Taking another example,the switching of calls to and from a subscriber also can be achievedthrough the use of the subscriber's directory number. That is, if acalling party places a call to a receiving party, the call can be routedto the receiving party based on an area code and/or an exchange code ofthe DNIS.

[0006] The reliance of conventional telephony systems on the DNIS andANI not only determines how features and services are to be implementedand delivered, but also dictates the mode of operation of other portionsof the telephony system. In consequence, services provided byconventional telephony systems are tightly linked to the DNIS and ANI.For example, billing, interactive voice response; functions, callrouting, call authentication, and subscriber information retrieval arepredicated upon the DNIS and the ANI.

[0007] Given the mobile nature of today's society, however, providingsubscribers with telephony services according to the DNIS and/or the ANIcan have disadvantages. For example, as a subscriber moves from onelocation to another, the subscriber may utilize telephony equipmentassociated with a directory number and account that is different fromthat of the “mobile” subscriber. As a result, the subscriber can beblocked from accessing particular telephony services which typically areavailable to the subscriber when calling from a home or another numberused by that subscriber. Moreover, if a subscriber does access one ormore telephony services from a different number, for example whiletraveling, the account associated with the number from which thesubscriber has called typically is billed rather than the subscriber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The invention disclosed herein provides a solution for activatingtelephony services for subscribers. The present invention can providetelephony services based upon identifiers which are associated withsubscriber information within a telephony data store. According to thepresent invention, telephony services can be provided to a subscriberfor a given call without relying upon a called number and/or a callingnumber. In consequence, the delivery of telephony services including,but not limited to, billing, call routing, call forwarding, voice mail,call redirect, and information retrieval can be predicated upon asubscriber identity rather than the called number or the calling number.

[0009] One aspect of the present invention can include a method ofproviding telephony services. The method can include receiving a requestto query a subscriber information data store to determine servicedescription information for a call. The service description informationcan specify at least one telephony service associated with a subscriberfor use in processing the call. The subscriber information data storecan be queried to determine the service description information.

[0010] The service description information can be received from thesubscriber information data store. If additional items of subscriberinformation are received from the subscriber information data store inrelation to the call, the service description information can be parsedfrom the additional items of subscriber information. Accordingly, theservice description information can be provided to a telephony servicenode to implement one or more telephony services specified by theservice description information with respect to the call.

[0011] The telephony service node can implement one or more telephonyservices specified by the service description information without usingorigination point information or termination point information for thecall. Still, the method can include adding service descriptioninformation to a subscriber entry in the subscriber information datastore. For example, the service description information can be appendedto a subscriber name portion of the subscriber entry.

[0012] Within the telephony service node, the call can be received aswell as the associated service description information. The servicedescription information can be matched with at least one telephonyservice available in the telephony service node for processing the call.Accordingly, the call can be processed in accordance with the determinedtelephony service.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention can include a method ofproviding telephony services in a telephony service node. The method caninclude receiving a call and associated service description information,wherein the service description information is determined from asubscriber information data store. The service description informationcan be matched with at least one telephony service available in thetelephony service node for processing the call. The call can beprocessed in accordance with the one or more determined telephonyservices. Thus, the telephony service node can implement the telephonyservices specified by the service description information without usingorigination point information or termination point information for thecall. Notably, the service description information can be added to asubscriber entry in the subscriber information data store. As noted, theservice description information can be appended to a subscriber nameportion of the subscriber entry.

[0014] Another aspect of the present invention can include a method ofproviding telephony services in a telephony service node includingreceiving a call and initiating a query to a subscriber information datastore to determine service description information for the call. Theservice description information can specify at least one telephonyservice associated with a subscriber for use in processing the call. Theservice description information can be received from the subscriberinformation data store. The service description information can bematched with at least one telephony service available in the telephonyservice node for processing the call. The call then can be processed inaccordance with the determined one or more telephony services.

[0015] As noted, the matching step can determine the telephony servicefor processing the call without reference to origination pointinformation or termination point information for the call. Additionally,the service description information can be added to a subscriber entryin the subscriber information data store by, for example, appending theservice description information to a subscriber name portion of thesubscriber entry.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] There are shown in the drawings, embodiments which are presentlypreferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is notlimited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

[0017]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a telephony system inaccordance with the inventive arrangements disclosed herein.

[0018]FIG. 2 is an exemplary data entry for a subscriber typically foundwithin a subscriber information data store.

[0019]FIG. 3 is an exemplary data entry for a subscriber which can bestored within a subscriber information data store in accordance with thepresent invention.

[0020]FIG. 4 is an excerpt from an exemplary mapping of subscriberinformation to telephony services in accordance with the presentinvention.

[0021]FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method of call processingaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] The invention disclosed herein provides a method and apparatusfor activating telephony services for subscribers. More particularly,the present invention can provide telephony services based upon aservice descriptor which can be associated with subscriber informationwithin a telephony data store such as a Line Information Data Base(LIDB). Accordingly, telephony services can be provided to a subscriberfor a given call based upon the subscriber's identity without relyingupon termination information such as the called number or address and/ororigination information such as the calling number or address.

[0023]FIG. 1 depicts a telephony system 100 in accordance with theinventive arrangements disclosed herein. The system 100 can beimplemented as a circuit-switched telephony network such as the publicswitched telephone network (PSTN). Accordingly, the system 100 caninclude various nodes providing circuit-switched transfer of voice dataand packet-switched transfer of signaling data. For example, a switchingsystem 105 can provide access to an originating device 110, which can beaccessed by a subscriber to initiate a call. The telephony system 100also can include one or more signaling transfer points (not shown) forrouting signaling data, such as Signaling System 7 (SS7) information,between the switching system 105 and other switching systems. A servicecontrol point (SCP) 115 can provide an interface to databases and otherdata retrieval services in the telephony system. The signaling transferpoints and the SCP 115, at least in part, form the signaling network inthe PSTN supporting call control functions such as call set up, callmaintenance, and call tear down.

[0024] The SCP 115 can provide an interface though which the LIDB 120can be queried. As should be appreciated by those skilled in the art,the LIDB 120 can be maintained by a telephone carrier, for example at acentral office. The LIDB 120 can store information such as a serviceprofile, name, address, credit card validation information, and the likefor subscribers. For example, the LIDB 120 can store calleridentification information necessary for the implementation of the“Caller ID” telephony service.

[0025] According to the present invention, the LIDB 120 can beprovisioned, for example via the administrative terminal 125, so that aservice descriptor can be appended to subscriber names stored therein.More particularly, a service descriptor which can be associated with oneor more telephony services can be added to the name field of subscriberentries within the LIDB 120. Accordingly, the subscriber, based upon thesubscriber identity, can be provided with one or more telephony serviceswhich are associated with the service descriptor rather than withorigination and/or termination information.

[0026] The gateway 130 can be communicatively linked to the switchingsystem 105 and provide an interface to the telephony service node 135.The telephony service node 135 can provide any of a variety of callprocessing functions. For example, the telephony service node 135 canprovide interactive voice response functions including dual tonemulti-frequency recognition, voice recognition, and text-to-speechprocessing. The telephony service node 135 further can provide othercall processing functions such as call routing, voice activated dialing,call forwarding, voice mail, call redirect, information retrieval, andthe like.

[0027] According to one aspect of the present invention, the telephonyservice node 135 can include a telephony application platform operatingwithin a packet-switched network environment. The gateway 130 canprovide an interface between the circuit-switched network and thepacket-switched network for both telephony signaling data as well asvoice communications. Accordingly, the gateway 130 can performtranslations between directory numbers and network addresses forconnecting calls with various voice processing application services.Notably, the telephony service node 135 can be included within a largerpacket-switched telephony network.

[0028] The telephony service node 135 also can be implemented as aprogrammable circuit-switched call processing platform. In that case,the telephony service node 135 can be linked directly with the switchingsystem 105 (not shown). Accordingly, the examples disclosed herein havebeen provided for purposes of illustration only. As such, the presentinvention is not limited to the use of one particular type of telephonyservice node. Rather, the telephony service node 135 can be implementedand function within either a packet-switched or a circuit-switchedtelecommunications environment using suitable interface mechanisms tothe switching system 105.

[0029] In operation, a subscriber can originate a call with theswitching system 105 using the originating device 110. The call can bedirected, that is the calling number or address can correspond to, anapplication program or extension within the telephony service node 135.In processing the call, one or more call triggers associated with thecall can be identified within the switching system 105. The call triggeror triggers can cause the switching system 105 to initiate a query tothe SCP 115, which in turn can query the LIDB 120 for subscriberinformation. The LIDB 120 can search for subscriber informationcorresponding to the calling number of the call. The subscriberinformation, including the service descriptor, can be provided back tothe SCP 115, to the switching system 105, and on to the telephonyservice node 135 via the gateway 130. Accordingly, the telephony servicenode 135 can implement a call processing function and/or applicationindicated by the service descriptor.

[0030] Although the system of FIG. 1 was described largely within thecontext of a circuit-switched telephony environment, those skilled inthe art will recognize that the present invention also can beimplemented within the context of a packet-switched or Internet Protocol(IP) based telephony environment. For example, a subscriber can initiatea call over a packet-switched network which can include appropriateprocessing nodes and/or interfaces for initiating SCP and/or LIDBqueries.

[0031]FIG. 2 is an exemplary data entry 200 for a subscriber whichtypically is found within a LIDB as was shown in FIG. 1. Although dataentries within the LIDB can include significantly more information thanshown, the data entry 200 can include a subscriber name 205 and asubscriber number 210 associated with the subscriber name 205. Thesubscriber number 210 corresponds to the calling number for a call.Accordingly, a query using the subscriber number 210 as a parameter candetermine the associated subscriber name 205 for a given call. Thesubscriber name 205 can be provided to the called party in addition tothe subscriber number 210.

[0032]FIG. 3 is an exemplary data entry 300 for a subscriber which canbe stored within the LIDB in accordance with the inventive arrangementsdisclosed herein. The data entry 300 includes a subscriber name 305 andan associated subscriber number 310. Notably, a service descriptor hasbeen appended to the subscriber name 305. The service descriptor can bea string of one or more characters and/or symbols. The servicedescriptor can represent one or more telephony services for which thesubscriber has been registered or approved to received.

[0033]FIG. 4 is an excerpt from an exemplary mapping 400 of subscriberinformation to telephony services in accordance with the presentinvention. The mapping 400 can be located within the telephony servicenode of FIG. 1. Accordingly, when a call or call request specifying asubscriber name and/or a service descriptor is received, the telephonyservice node can match the received call request with one or moreservices corresponding to the received service descriptor.

[0034] As shown, the mapping 400 includes an entry 405 and an entry 410.Each entry can specify a subscriber name with an appended servicedescriptor. In another embodiment of the present invention, only theservice descriptor need be stored. In any case, the service descriptorcan be associated with one or more telephony services. More than onetelephony service can be associated with each telephony servicedescriptor.

[0035] The service descriptors can be implemented such that each likeservice descriptor is associated with a given set of one or moretelephony services. For example, each bit position of a given servicedescriptor can correspond to a given telephony service and indicatewhether that service is available for use. According to another aspectof the present invention, each service descriptor can be unique suchthat the set of telephony services associated with the subscriber namealso can be unique to that subscriber. Thus, service descriptor “XXX” ofentry 405 can be associated with telephony service 1 or a set oftelephony services. The service descriptor “YYY” of entry 410 can beassociated with telephony service 2, or another set of telephonyservices.

[0036] It should be appreciated, however, that the association ofservice descriptors, telephony services, and/or subscriber names can beperformed using any of a variety of data storage and associationmechanisms. For example, the mapping data can be specified as a table,as a linked list, or as a database.

[0037]FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating a method 500 of delivering atelephony service as performed by the system of FIG. 1. The method canbegin in step 505 where the LIDB can be provisioned to add or appendservice descriptors to names of one or more subscriber entries. Asnoted, this can be performed using an administrative terminal orcomputer system designated for administering or maintaining the LIDB. Instep 510, a subscriber can initiate a call using suitable customerpremise equipment, whether circuit-switched or packet-switched customerpremise equipment.

[0038] In step 515, an SCP can query the LIDB for subscriberinformation. More particularly, the initiated call can be processed in atelephony switching system which can determine that a query to an SCPfor further information is necessary. Accordingly, the switching systemcan send the query to the SCP, which in turn can query the LIDB asindicated. The SCP can query the LIDB by including information such asthe calling number or address within the query, such that the LIDB canretrieve subscriber information corresponding to the received call. TheLIDB, having identified subscriber information for the call, including aservice descriptor, can provide the call information to the SCP whichreceives the call information in step 520.

[0039] In step 525, the telephony service node can receive the callinformation which can be routed from the SCP through one or moreintermediate switching points as well as switching systems as may berequired. In step 530, the telephony service node can identify theservice descriptor from the received subscriber information. In step535, the telephony service node can match the identified servicedescriptor from the subscriber information with one or more telephonyservices. As noted, the telephony service node can store associations ofservice descriptors and telephony services which can be enabled orprovided to process a call associated with a particular subscriber.

[0040] In step 540, the telephony services which are associated with theidentified service descriptor can be activated or made available toprocess the call. For example, one or more application programimplementations of telephony services associated with the servicedescriptor can be executed. Accordingly, any of a variety of telephonyservices can be provided to process the call including interactive voiceresponse services, directory services, call routing, and the like.

[0041] It should be appreciated that the present invention, althoughdescribed with reference to a particular embodiment, can be implementedin any of a variety of different configurations. For example, one ormore of the particular functions described herein with reference to theSCP and the telephony service node, that is subscriber data retrievalfunctions and the providing of telephony services can be combined into asingle more complex processing node.

[0042] Additionally, depending upon the particular configuration of thepresent invention, the telephony node, for example the SCP, whichretrieves the subscriber information can retrieve the subscriber nameand/or service descriptor only, or the subscriber name, the servicedescriptor, as well as additional subscriber information. Accordingly,if the subscriber data retrieval node retrieves more information than isrequired, the SCP can parse the subscriber information to determine thesubscriber name and/or service descriptor to be provided to thetelephony service node. If more information than is needed by thetelephony service node is received, for example from the SCP, thetelephony service node can parse the received subscriber information todetermine the subscriber name and/or the service descriptor.

[0043] The invention disclosed herein provides a solution for activatingtelephony services for subscribers according to a service descriptorwhich can be added to subscriber entries within a telephony data store.Accordingly, through the present invention, telephony services can beprovided to subscribers by the telephony service node without a relianceupon origination and/or termination information. Thus, telephonyservices can be provided based upon subscriber identities, therebyfacilitating personalized telephony service provisioning.

[0044] The present invention can be realized in hardware, software, or acombination of hardware and software. The present invention can berealized in a centralized fashion in one computer system, or in adistributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein issuited. A typical combination of hardware and software can be a generalpurpose computer system with a computer program that, when being loadedand executed, controls the computer system such that it carries out themethods described herein.

[0045] The present invention also can be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext means any expression, in any language, code or notation, of aset of instructions intended to cause a system having an informationprocessing capability to perform a particular function either directlyor after either or both of the following: a) conversion to anotherlanguage, code or notation; b) reproduction in a different materialform.

[0046] This invention can be embodied in other forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, referenceshould be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoingspecification, as indicating the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of providing telephony servicescomprising: receiving a request to query a subscriber information datastore to determine service description information for a call, whereinthe service description information specifies at least one telephonyservice associated with a subscriber for use in processing the call;querying the subscriber information data store to determine the servicedescription information; receiving the service description informationfrom the subscriber information data store; and providing the servicedescription information to a telephony service node to implement atelephony service specified by the service description information withrespect to the call.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the telephonyservice node implements a telephony service specified by the servicedescription information without using origination point information ortermination point information for the call.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: adding service description information to asubscriber entry in the subscriber information data store.
 4. The methodof claim 3, said adding step further comprising: appending the servicedescription information to a subscriber name portion of the subscriberentry.
 5. The method of claim 1, said receiving step further comprising:receiving additional items of subscriber information for the call fromthe subscriber information data store; and parsing the servicedescription information from the additional items of subscriberinformation.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: within thetelephony service node, receiving the call with the associated servicedescription information; matching the service description informationwith at least one telephony service available in the telephony servicenode for processing the call; and processing the call in accordance withthe determined telephony service.
 7. In a telephony service node, amethod of providing telephony services comprising: within the telephonyservice node, receiving a call and associated service descriptioninformation, wherein the service description information is determinedfrom a subscriber information data store; matching the servicedescription information with at least one telephony service available inthe telephony service node for processing the call; and processing thecall in accordance with the at least one determined telephony service.8. The method of claim 7, wherein said matching step determines the atleast one telephony service specified by the service descriptioninformation without using origination point information or terminationpoint information for the call.
 9. The method of claim 7, furthercomprising: adding service description information to a subscriber entryin the subscriber information data store.
 10. The method of claim 9,said adding step further comprising: appending the service descriptioninformation to a subscriber name portion of the subscriber entry.
 11. Ina telephony service node, a method of providing telephony servicescomprising: within the telephony service node, receiving a call;initiating a query to a subscriber information data store to determineservice description information for the call, wherein the servicedescription information specifies at least one telephony serviceassociated with a subscriber for use in processing the call; receivingthe service description information from the subscriber information datastore; matching the service description information with at least onetelephony service available in the telephony service node for processingthe call; and processing the call in accordance with the determined atleast one telephony service.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein saidmatching step determines the at least one telephony service specified bythe service description information without reference to originationpoint information or termination point information for the call.
 13. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: adding service descriptioninformation to a subscriber entry in the subscriber information datastore.
 14. The method of claim 13, said adding step further comprising:appending the service description information to a subscriber nameportion of the subscriber entry.
 15. A machine-readable storage, havingstored thereon a computer program having a plurality of code sectionsexecutable by a machine for causing the machine to perform the steps of:receiving a request to query a subscriber information data store todetermine service description information for a call, wherein theservice description information specifies at least one telephony serviceassociated with a subscriber for use in processing the call; queryingthe subscriber information data store to determine the servicedescription information; receiving the service description informationfrom the subscriber information data store; and providing the servicedescription information to a telephony service node to implement atelephony service specified by the service description information withrespect to the call.
 16. The machine-readable storage of claim 15,wherein the telephony service node implements a telephony servicespecified by the service description information without usingorigination point information or termination point information for thecall.
 17. The machine-readable storage of claim 15, further comprising:adding service description information to a subscriber entry in thesubscriber information data store.
 18. The machine-readable storage ofclaim 17, said adding step further comprising: appending the servicedescription information to a subscriber name portion of the subscriberentry.
 19. The machine-readable storage of claim 15, said receiving stepfurther comprising: receiving additional items of subscriber informationfor the call from the subscriber information data store; and parsing theservice description information from the additional items of subscriberinformation.
 20. The machine-readable storage of claim 15, furthercomprising: within the telephony service node, receiving the call withthe associated service description information; matching the servicedescription information with at least one telephony service available inthe telephony service node for processing the call; and processing thecall in accordance with the determined telephony service.
 21. Amachine-readable storage, having stored thereon a computer programhaving a plurality of code sections executable by a machine for causingthe machine to perform the steps of: within the telephony service node,receiving a call and associated service description information, whereinthe service description information is determined from a subscriberinformation data store; matching the service description informationwith at least one telephony service available in the telephony servicenode for processing the call; and processing the call in accordance withthe at least one determined telephony service.
 22. The machine-readablestorage of claim 21, wherein said matching step determines the at leastone telephony service specified by the service description informationwithout using origination point information or termination pointinformation for the call.
 23. The machine-readable storage of claim 21,further comprising: adding service description information to asubscriber entry in the subscriber information data store.
 24. Themachine-readable storage of claim 23, said adding step furthercomprising: appending the service description information to asubscriber name portion of the subscriber entry.
 25. A machine-readablestorage, having stored thereon a computer program having a plurality ofcode sections executable by a machine for causing the machine to performthe steps of: within the telephony service node, receiving a call;initiating a query to a subscriber information data store to determineservice description information for the call, wherein the servicedescription information specifies at least one telephony serviceassociated with a subscriber for use in processing the call; receivingthe service description information from the subscriber information datastore; matching the service description information with at least onetelephony service available in the telephony service node for processingthe call; and processing the call in accordance with the determined atleast one telephony service.
 26. The machine-readable storage of claim25, wherein said matching step determines the at least one telephonyservice specified by the service description information withoutreference to origination point information or termination pointinformation for the call.
 27. The machine-readable storage of claim 25,further comprising: adding service description information to asubscriber entry in the subscriber information data store.
 28. Themachine-readable storage of claim 27, said adding step furthercomprising: appending the service description information to asubscriber name portion of the subscriber entry.